Stories from Wednesday, May 20, 2009

RHS grads celebrate step to future
Scholarships make transition easier for many (05/20/09)
The challenges of tomorrow were deftly entwined with those already overcome when the Rector High School Class of 2009 gathered Friday night in the school gymnasium to usher in the journey to adulthood...

Dortch retiring from RES after teaching 14 years (05/20/09)
For the last 14 years, Rita Dortch has been a fixture at Rector Elementary. Now, after having helped form and challenge hundreds of young minds, Dortch is retiring from RES. Dortch made the decision to become a teacher at the age of 46. ...

Governor congratulates Layer (05/20/09)
Amanda Layer (center), valedictorian of the Rector High School Class of 2009, receives congratulations from Gov. and Mrs. Mike Beebe at a reception for graduating high school honor seniors held May 2 at the Governor's Mansion in Little Rock. Also present were her parents, Cam Cate (far left) and Sherry Cate (second from right) and sister, Madison Cate....

Fast Break Game Room offering fun for all ages (05/20/09)
Rector residents looking for a fun alternative to a quiet evening at home now have another option for their free time. Alan Deringer has recently opened the Fast Break Game Room in the former Western Auto building...

Tickets going fast for Helping Hands benefit concert (05/20/09)
Early ticket sales for the Rector High School Helping Hands Foundation's second benefit concert Tuesday, Aug. 4, strongly indicate this show will be a sellout. Two hundred fifty premium seats at $50 each already are completely gone, and sales of general admission seats at $20 each are going quickly...

GT team takes third in state (05/20/09)
Four Rector High School gifted and talented students recently won third place in the state in the Arkansas Personal Finance Challenge 2009 held on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas at Conway...

Pageant will be highlight of Mayfest event May 30 (05/20/09)
The annual Rector Mayfest Pageant will be one of the highlights of the community festival set for Saturday, May 30, at Rector Downtown Park. Sponsored by the Rector Area Chamber of Commerce, the event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m...

Annual Memorial Day service set (05/20/09)
Rector's annual Memorial Day service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 24, at Woodland Heights Cemetery. The event, which honors veterans, will feature speakers Tommy Huggins, commander of Rector Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 10480, and Chuck Hayden from the Poplar Bluff VFW post. Pastor Marston Carpenter will lead a special prayer during the service...

Court provides additional funds for needs of sheriff's department (05/20/09)
The Clay County Sheriff's Department will be receiving additional funding to help in its operation. The Clay County Quorum Court voted Monday night to augment the department's budget by $20,000 to assist in the purchase of a second new patrol car and help in drug investigations...

PHS graduates class of 2009 (05/20/09)
The Piggott High School class of 2009 received diplomas Friday night, as commencement exercises were held in the new PHS gym. This year's valedictorian was Elizabeth DiPaola, while the salutatorian was Sarah Merrell. The remainder of the top 10 included Nicole Foster, Zach Smart, Andrea Wilson, Tiffany Wierzbicki, Andrea Edwards, Colby Laxton, Sharmarie Burdin and Josh Small...

Car show big success despite threat of weather (05/20/09)
Despite the threat of rain on Saturday, a large crowd of both participants and spectators turned out for the 11th annual Piggott Heritage Park Car Show and cruise this past weekend. The event, which was hastily moved from Heritage Park to the Clay County Fairgrounds due to wet conditions, drew well over 300 entries and a crowd numbering in the thousands...

JP's approve vehicle purchase, adopt ordinances at meeting (05/20/09)
The Clay County Sheriff's Department will be receiving additional funding to help in its operation. The Clay County Quorum Court voted Monday night to augment the department's budget by $20,000 to assist in the purchase of a second new patrol car and help in drug investigations...

Men's baseball tournament set (05/20/09)
There will be a men's baseball tournament at Piggott's Independence Park Friday and Saturday, July 3 and 4, and an organizational meeting has been scheduled. The tournament will feature a six team bracket and players must be 18 years of age or older. ...

Fun with Frank (05/20/09)
Two Piggott High School, and University of Arkansas, graduates competed in the Greater Dallas Razorback Club golf event at the Castle Hills Golf Club in Lewisville, Texas back on May 5. Pictured with Razorback icon Frank Broyles (center) are, from left--Paul Urbanas from Little Rock, Adam Rodery from Piggott, Broyles, John Knight from Fayetteville and Jim Mann from Piggott. ...

A definite difference (05/20/09)
Men and women react to the same situation in different ways. That's how we are. Seldom are we on the same wave length. Last week a man went to visit his neighbor, Joseph. He took along his white puppy to play with the neighbor's puppies...

It happened, years ago (05/20/09)
1969 Two men, arrested in the burglary of the Thomas Brothers Hardware store in Corning, escaped from the county jail 40 years ago last week. The two, Irvin Cato of Piggott and William Henry Hill of Delaplaine, removed sheet metal and brick, and slid down blankets to freedom. ...

Glen Houston Stewart (05/20/09)
Glen Houston Stewart, 83, of Rector passed away at the Arkansas Methodist Hospital on May 13, 2009. He was born October 8, 1925, to the late W.F. "Fannie" and Floy Belle (Light) Stewart in Walcott, Arkansas. Glen served as a paratrooper in World War II and he drove a truck for many years...

Jimmie Franklin Rogers (05/20/09)
Jimmie Franklin Rogers, 76, of Poplar Bluff, formerly of Nimmons, and Bethalto, Ill., passed away Sunday, May 17, 2009, at his home. He was born March 8, 1933, in Nimmons, and was the son of the late Isom Thomas and Mary Jane (White) Rogers...

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